


A Very Reel Office Romance

by Pinkstationfrerard



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Fluff, Longing, M/M, Misunderstandings, Office AU, Slow Build, Telemarketing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-17
Updated: 2015-10-17
Packaged: 2018-04-26 17:23:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5013397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinkstationfrerard/pseuds/Pinkstationfrerard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hi, this is Tyler calling from the Reel Bear Media camera and recording equipment company, would you be interested in hearing some offers or services we can provide you with?"</p><p>...Also known as the office AU where Josh and Tyler are both fresh out of college and working as telemarketers for the same company. Prank wars and not-dates kind-of-dates ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Hi, this is Tyler calling from the Reel Bear Media camera and recording equipment company, would you be interested in hearing some offers or services we can provide you with?"

Once again, Tyler twirled his pen in his hand as he begun another call. Mark had already shown him the ropes and watched over him for the first couple of calls, but now he was back in his own cubicle and probably listening in to make sure Tyler didn't do one of the big "no-no's", as Mark called them.

"No-No's" include being too formal, too informal, too aggressive, not aggressive enough, and so on and so forth. Tyler knew Mark was just trying to teach Tyler to the best of his abilities, but the pressure was making his nerves jump and heighten the effects of the few sips of coffee he'd drank earlier.

Mark was totally awesome for getting Tyler a job straight out of college so he could start paying his loans off, though. He'd worked at Reel Bear Media for several years, and he basically co-owned it with Tyler's actual boss. He knew everything there was to know about camera services, which was kind of insane considering that the document of all of their offers (complete with summaries and prices) lasted about 50 pages long.

"I can call you back if this isn't a good time? Alright, how about 6? Okay, I'll talk to you then." Tyler wrote himself a reminder before hanging up, making sure to put the sticky note on the bland and otherwise previously empty white wall in front of him so he wouldn't forget when he was supposed to call.

"Not bad for a newbie." Mark said from behind him. Tyler swung his swivel chair around (seriously, so cool, he was going to get so dizzy from spinning around in that chair for the next week straight) and he watched Mark give him a cheerful thumbs up.

"Thanks. It's harder than I thought." Tyler huffed out. "I know this will be good to help deal with my phone anxiety, but still, facing my fears isn't exactly a good time."

Mark nodded in agreement and stepped forward to pat Tyler gently on the shoulder. "I agree. That's why we're throwing you a little shebang after the majority of our shifts are over at ten. Hayley got doughnuts from the bakery down the street, they're to die for."

Meeting people and charming them wasn't exactly Tyler's forte, but so far everyone he'd met had been nice enough and certainly sympathetic to the fact that he was fresh out of college and in need of a temporary job. It was all for when he moved out of Ohio, which was going to be god knows when.

"Yeah, thank you, that sounds great." Tyler grinned in response.

Mark mumbled something under his breath with a little smirk, and then he turned away before Tyler could question him. Typical.

Tyler pulled out his phone and checked the time- only 5 hours until his shift was over, oh god- and he let out a long, defeated sigh. These long hours were going to kill him, but he was lucky to be able to work four days a week instead of five.

"Hi, this is Tyler calling from Reel Bear Media-"

 

~*~

 

After a few more grueling first-day hours of making call after call and only getting three "maybes" and no sales, Tyler was utterly exhausted. He'd never been so happy to not be alone. The sight and smell of several boxes of doughnuts drew him into the break room, where a number of 15 people were crowding all of the table space and eating sugary pastries.

"Thanks, new guy, we never get good treats like this." One of the employees directed to Tyler as he happily bit into a chocolate-frosted doughnut. Mark must've pointed him out to everyone but skipped on letting people know his name if people knew he was new. Or maybe he was overthinking it and people just had really good memories when there wasn't anything better to do.

"Okay, everyone, instead of hazing, let's all be friendly to Tyler and make him feel welcome. You all know we don't have a great track record." Mark called out, quieting the room and earning a few tired groans from a couple of people. "We can all help each other out or we can make this a competition, which it's not. If we aren't counting raises."

Mark gave Tyler a playful bro-hug before sitting him down at one of the corner tables and involving him in socialization. Not everyone who worked at Reel Bear Media was a tech nerd, thankfully, so Tyler didn't feel quite so alone.

"Yeah, I was the same as you, man." One of the guys whose name Tyler couldn't remember said to him with a compassionate gleam in his eyes. "I planned on working here for three months and it's been almost two years now."

Tyler swallowed back a nervous gulp and let out a soft "oh" in response. The guy cracked a friendly smile and patted Tyler on the back. "Don't worry about it. I promise you won't get stuck here."

Tyler nodded back to him, distracted by all of the other people around him when a bright bob of pink caught his eye. Was that... Someone's hair? It seemed kind of funny to think of a telemarketer with brightly colored hair, but yes, there certainly was someone in the back with cotton candy pink locks.

"Josh! Come meet Tyler!" Mark called out to the same direction Tyler was looking at. The pink-haired man turned, half of a doughnut in his mouth and another on each hand, and the man- Josh- cracked a smile with a mouth full of food.

"Mmmfpphm!" Josh tried to speak before giggling and shoving the last of the food into his mouth and chewing quickly. "Hey, Mark! So, this is your friend from your university day trips?" Josh spoke as he took a couple more quick bites of his food. He must not have eaten all day, from the looks of it, or perhaps he just had a big appetite. Either way, Tyler wasn't one to judge.

He couldn't help looking Josh over, though. He was absolutely gorgeous. He was wearing tight dress pants, a plain white button-up with a dark blue tie patterned with pink polka-dots, and a couple of colorful bracelets that swirled and twisted around each other. a fresh, clean look with a twist of humor. Tyler liked it.

"Yup." Mark said, popping his "p's".

"Hey, I'm Josh. Nice to meet you." Josh said and extended his hand for Tyler to shake. He had a firm grip and large hands- one of them was balancing two doughnuts- and he sat at the end of the table next to Tyler after their hands released.

"Tyler. Nice to meet you too. Cool hair." Tyler said politely, grabbing the last pink frosted sprinkle doughnut from the box at the table they were sitting at. Josh looked up, as if he could see a couple of spare strands with enough effort, and he smiled sweetly.

"Thank you. Hayley did it for me a couple of weeks ago. Do you know her? She's the one who brings food for stuff like this. Her boyfriend- wait, fiancé- he works at the Bakery. It's pretty cool." Josh said with a couple bobs of his head before he bit into another doughnut with unmatchable enthusiasm. "She even got vegan ones for Andy. He's the tough-looking guy with all of the tattoos."

Tyler looked over the clusters of people and landed his eyes on the man Josh was talking about, and of course, the beefiest dude in the whole office didn't even eat animals or animal products. There seemed to be lots of different types of people working for the company, which was typical of both Mark and who they all worked for- they both loved drama as well as diversity.

Everyone in the office seemed to mix together nicely, though. Several people stopped by the table where Tyler, Josh, Mark and a few others were sitting to welcome him, and Tyler felt like one of the office family when Josh waved goodbye to him as Tyler stepped into his car at the end of the day.

 

~*~

 

“Tyler, I’m going for a coffee run to starbucks, want anything?” Josh said with his arms propped up on the edges of Tyler’s cubicle. Tyler checked the time on the computer and raised a brow up at Josh.

“Don’t we have coffee here?

Josh let out a low huff and he readjusted his posture to lean in closer to Tyler’s office space. “Don’t be cynical. I know you’ve only been here a week, but you should know how much the people here depend on sugar. I’m just happy to get out of here for thirty minutes, even if it means having to list off fifteen orders and tell the baristas it’s not all for me.”

Tyler snickered. “Yeah, no, you could totally do that, though. I see your redbulls in the fridge. You drink as much as I did on study nights last year.”

Josh shrugged with a tiny smile on his face. “High tolerance, huh? I always get double shots added. I’m an addict.”

Tyler grinned and nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, man. I usually don’t go to starbucks, though, so I don’t know what I want, can I just come with you?”

“Yeah, sure. If we get back in time we can just use the time as our lunch break and it won’t affect our pay.”

“Sick.” Tyler shrugged on his coat before following Josh out the door to his car. He thought they’d walk, but then again, Tyler had no idea where anything was in the part of Columbus by the office. He’d wanted to spend time with Josh, anyways, so he wasn’t one to complain as he got to take a closer look at the man’s more personal belongings.

His car was fairly neat, save for a few wrappers and old empty coffee cups and water bottles. In the back, there was a drumset strapped together with rope.

“Whoa, you play the drums?” Tyler asked as he stared at the back of the mini-van. It was a fairly nice set, too, from what Tyler could tell, and it had obviously been packed in with care.

Josh turned the car keys and started the engine. “Yeah, I do. That’s my baby. I’m taking him over to a friend’s house after work since our practices got temporarily re-located.”

“That’s cool. What’s his name?”

“Jishwa.” Josh grinned at Tyler, a special gleam in his eye. “Most people don’t ask that. Most people don’t name their possessions, actually, but I name all my instruments.” A light blush rose on Josh’s cheeks as he drove, which was way too adorable for his own good.

“Jishwa seems like it would be a good nickname for you. And dude, I name all of my plants, don’t even get me started.” Tyler giggled. “Jish.”

“I like it.” Josh hummed in agreement. “The name. And the plant thing, that’s sweet of you.”

Tyler hummed and shrugged his shoulders. “I suppose. My last roommate thought it was girly and stupid.”

“Nothing wrong with being girly, whatever that means. People are people.” Josh said casually with a couple of sweeping hand motions with his free hand that wasn’t touching the steering wheel. “Besides, that was your last roommate. How’s your current one?”

Tyler knew he’d been smart when he subconsciously decided to try become friends with Josh. He was more than just nice, he was open-minded and a bit quirky in a cute way. He sighed and stared out the car window. “I don’t have one at the moment. It was fun for a week to be alone and then it… then it wasn’t.”

“I know what you mean. When I was totally on my own, I was like, ‘oh, Netflix without headphones all the time!’ Then I realized that I didn’t have any friends to make any clever commentary, with, so.” Josh shrugged and quirked his lip in thought. “That was a long time ago, though. I just graduated a couple of months ago.”

“Yeah, I get that. It sucks, but I’m glad things are better now.” Tyler said quietly before piping up once again. “Oh, wow, that’s the same time as me! We must be the same age.”

“Gemini.” Josh grinned.

“Sagittarius.”

“Nice.” Josh giggled as he pulled into a drive-through Starbucks. “Want anything to eat? It’s on me.”

“Oh, that’s ok, I can pay.” Tyler reassured him, since Josh was probably just trying to be courteous and generous when he was doing Tyler a favor by getting him out of work for a little bit. “Lemon cake sounds good, though. I’ll pay you back for that.”

“Alright.” Josh replied, looking a little crestfallen before he shook himself and stared at the menu. “I think I’m gonna get the pumpkin spice latte, it’s good. You?”

“I haven’t tried that. Sounds good.”

Josh nodded and pulled the car up to the speaker and rolled down the window so he could read of his sticky note of drink orders and their own. It was a surprisingly expensive order, but at least Josh was going to get paid back. Tyler had no idea coffee could be so pricey.

Once he tasted his wonderfully steaming hot cup, though, it all made sense. “Mmmm, wow. This is so good.” Tyler licked his lips and took a couple of short sips before he put the cup down on one of his thighs, doing his best not to burn his poor hand.

“I’m glad you like it, because if you didn’t, I would kick you out of the car immediately.”

“No you wouldn’t. I’m too pretty.” Tyler teased, breaking off into laughter at his own words.

“You’re not lying, Joseph.” Josh said with a tiny smirk. Tyler decided not to read too much into that and he settled on taking a few bites of his lemon pound cake instead, humming appreciatively at the creamy texture and the not-too-sweet or overpowering flavors.

Once they managed to carry everything back safely into the office, they were greeted with cheers and dollar bills as everyone checked the price of their drinks on Josh’s receipt. Tyler threw his own share before Josh could protest and he made his way back to his cubicle to set everything down and take a couple of deep breaths to focus himself on the calls he would have to make to actually keep his job.

Too bad he was a little too distracted by the memory of Josh’s bright smile and all of the words they’d exchanged.

God, he was screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prank wars and a not-a-date-but-totally-might-be-a-date.
> 
> Oh, if only it had been a date.

Work tended to get quite boring when all you did for the duration of the day was try to sell camera equipment or encourage people to let Reel Bear Media take pictures at their wedding, so in between bursts of productive calls Tyler thought of great pranks to pull of Josh. They’d started a bit of a prank war the previous week, and now they really didn’t know how to end it.

Poor Josh hadn’t realized how truly competitive Tyler was until it was too late.

This time around, Tyler was assembling rubber bands to shoot at him from across the room, but since Josh was a few cubicles away, sometimes his aim was off and he would hit Mark or someone in between in the process. He eventually gave up when he realized there were security cameras, and if he was going to perform a prank, he was going to have to execute it properly.

So, Tyler waited.

Tyler kept a good eye on Josh’s workspace and he waited for him to step out to go to the bathroom- Tyler knew he’d been binge-drinking the office tea all day, he had to go _eventually_ \- and then he walked quickly to watch his darkest nightmares become Josh’s reality.

He waited outside of the bathroom door for a couple of minutes, doing his best to keep a straight face. Once the door swung open, Tyler quickly tapped on the figure’s shoulder and let out a shriek when his eyes met something that wasn’t human in the slightest.

“What the frick-” Tyler snapped his hand away and clutched his chest. “ _Josh?_ I’m supposed to be scaring you!”

“I know.” Josh said, his voice muffled by the mask. Tyler could tell he was gloating all the same. “I think our pranks are getting too weak and too predictable. Think of something better.” Josh took off the mask and attempted to fix his ruffled hair to no avail. Tyler shot him a dramatic glare, which only made Josh smile proudly even more.

“You do have a point, watch your back, Dun.”

Josh snorted and turned away without another word. Tyler couldn’t show any fear or weakness, and of course, he’d done exactly that. He was especially confused as to where Josh even got the mask in the first place, but since it was almost halloween, he tried not to think about whether he’d dressed up as a werewolf in previous years and then brought the mask all the way to the office just to scare Tyler or not.

“Hold on, Josh, one more thing.” Tyler grunted as his hand swung sharply and made contact with Josh’s ass. The loud slap echoed in the bathroom hall, earning Tyler a distant wolf-whistle out of Hayley. Josh leaned into the touch for a second before he swung around with a furious blush on his face, looking gloriously embarrassed.

Heck, he looked like he’d liked it a little. Tyler would have to remember that.

“Watch _your_ back, Joseph.” Josh growled before he turned to walk down the hall back to his office. Tyler had liked the little fight Josh had put up, but he wasn’t one to be beaten down into a prank war. He had just the perfect plan, and nothing would stand in his way.

...Except work, maybe. Tyler didn’t really know how he hadn’t been fired at this point.

~*~

Tyler walked into work the next day with a devious smile on his face as he waited for Josh to show up only to find his entire cubicle completely covered in blank sticky notes. All of his supplies, his desk, and even his chair were covered. Tyler appreciated the dedication put in. He started laughing hysterically the longer he looked at it, both of his hands clutching his stomach as he bent over in fits of giggles.

“Like what you see?” Josh said behind him. “I stayed extra late to do that. Consider yourself Joshed.”

“Oh, it’s funny, but it’s not as good as what I have planned.” Tyler said with a proud smirk. “I think you’ll enjoy it when I decide to share it with you.”

Tyler just knew that the waiting and anticipation was going to kill Josh, which was part one of his plan. Make him wait and worry, and then make a small prank to throw him off before the big wave hit. It was a perfect plan, and it would definitely throw Josh off of his game.

Josh narrowed his eyes. “We’ll see.”

Tyler waited. He waited for Josh to take his lunch break to strike- for the cats to strike, more specifically, because when Josh came back his entire office was covered in printed cat pictures and decorated with cheesy kitten stickers. Josh let out a gasp when he saw it all, doing his best to fight off a wide smile. Tyler knew it would distract him for a bit, and that was when his real plan of action started.

It was hard to rush out of the office during his break and get all of his supplies as fast as he could, but Tyler managed to roll out a whole box of tin foil and wrap it around Josh's mini-van in 15 minutes flat. He was quick and efficient with taping it, but of course, he couldn't have done it without Mark's help. Tyler knew it was going to be worth the free coffee he owed him once he saw Josh's face later that day.

To complete the space car, Tyler taped up nasa logos and cartoon alien heads all over the tin foil surrounding the car. It was like a very convenient heater from Mars. Tyler was proud of himself.

Josh might've thrown him a suspicious look once he got back to his desk, but the other man- his friend- seemed to be busy with work for once.

Tyler opened his desk drawer to get out a pen when he was met with a slimy, colorful yet unidentifiable substance.

"What the.." Tyler mumbled as he pulled out the object by the tray.

"He jello-ed my freaking stapler, Mark." Tyler said loud enough for his friend to hear him, even if he was on a call. Apparently not at that moment, though, because Mark's face peered over the cubicle to snicker. "Wow, he really got you." Mark said as he reached a hand over the wall to poke at the jell-o.

"We'll show him." Tyler grumbled before scooping off a piece of the fruity substance and taking a bite. He hadn't gotten time for lunch, anyways, and Tyler really didn't care about germs when he was hungry enough.

Mark hummed out a response before he settled back into his workspace, leaving Tyler alone to try and focus on work for a few hours until Josh and him clocked out at ten.

It was going to be a long wait.

~*~

Taking off the tinfoil was easier than putting it on, but not by all that much. Josh's look of sheer surprise when he saw his car had been priceless and totally worth missing a proper lunch over, but of course Tyler helped him clean up once the joke's glory and humor passed.

"How long did this take to put on my car? I didn't even notice you leave today."

"I thought I said to watch your back, Jishwa." Tyler snickered as he threw bits of tinfoil at Josh's face. "I went during my lunch break. Thanks for the jell-o snack, by the way."

Josh seemed both pleased and disgruntled all at once from that. "Wait, so you didn't eat today so you could deck out my car?"

Tyler shrugged in response. "I had some breakfast, but, yeah."

"Lemme take you out to dinner." Josh said bluntly. He looked a little guilty, so Tyler didn't see any reason to refuse him. He liked Josh, he really, _really_ did, and all of the prank wars had been fun and competitive but Tyler was tired of thinking about how flirty it felt to him sometimes. He was  _not_ down for week-long phases of intense confusion.

"If we call this a truce?" Tyler offered with an outstretched hand.

Josh shook it. "Deal. Uh, my car? I can just, like, drop you off and pick you up in the morning or something..." Josh trailed off, biting his lip anxiously.

Tyler thought that it seemed like a bit of a  hassle on Josh's part, but he didn't want to seem rude. "If you think that'll be the easiest way. I live about a five minute drive from here."

"Dude, I'm like two miles away, why don't we just carpool?" Josh suggested as he unlocked the car, waiting for both of them to settle in before continuing. "It would save lots of gas money and urge me to actually get here on time, since you're always kind of early."

"Force of habit. I was never late to classes." Tyler shrugged with a small smile. The idea of being around Josh even more excited him, since they got along so well, but it also dampened the idea that Tyler could be totally alright with them just being casual friends. Josh was taking him out to dinner, for God's sake. If a date thing wasn't a date, then Josh wasn't into him. End of story.

Tyler could work with waking up and getting to hang with Josh in the mornings right afterwards. "Yeah, that sounds really smart, actually. Why don't I give you my number? I'll give you my address and whatnot."

Josh nodded and handed Tyler his phone before he started up the car. Tyler put his name and number in as a contact, a little tempted to add emojis, but he resisted the urge. He texted a simple “hey” to himself from Josh’s phone before handing it back to the pink-haired man.

“Any places in mind?”

“There’s this one good vegetarian place really close to here that you might like.”

“Are you a vegetarian?” Tyler asked curiously. It would only add onto the “reasons why Josh is inhuman and perfect” list.

Josh laughed and pursed his lips, his head knocking against the back of his seat. “No, but I feel all high and mighty when I go meatless for a while. Their salads are killer, anyways.”

Tyler nodded his head. “Yeah, cool. Let’s do it. Sometimes I wanna make the commitment but then I go to taco bell and I realize that I would never be able to give that up.”

“Dude, you like taco bell too?”

“That was half of my diet during college!”

Josh took a break from looking at the road during a stoplight to high-five Tyler, the most adorable excited look on his face. “You, sir, have good taste.”

“Thank you.” Tyler grinned back, catching Josh’s eye for a moment before the other man’s gaze was forced back onto the road. Tyler’s breath caught in his throat. He drew his hands down to his lap and fiddled with the sleeves of his jacket, suddenly overcome with nerves. They were going to a restaurant instead of fast food, which required sitting down in dark settings where Josh would look even  _prettier_ and he'd have nowhere to look but at Josh. The idea of such intimacy, even if it was with a friend, was almost too much for Tyler to handle and keep him composed.

“You ok?” Josh asked after Tyler fell silent for a minute.

“Yea, It’s just… been a while since someone’s wanted to take me out, a-as a friend before, besides Mark, so I’m not used to the whole… friendship thing. We’re friends, right?”

Josh looked a little crestfallen at that, but Tyler could tell he was trying not to show his emotions as he drove. “Don’t worry about it, man. Yeah, I’d sure hope we are friends after I took so much time covering your entire office in sticky notes. That took longer than it took for you to prank my car, actually.”

Tyler giggled and punched Josh in the shoulder lightly to get the mood up again. “Yeah, totally. I was impressed. That’s one of my favorites along with all of the cat pictures.”

“That’s what _you_ did, Tyler.”

“Yeah, it was and it was awesome.”

Josh snorted and Tyler shook with fits of giggles. “Hayley liked it when I slapped you after you scared the life out of me.”

Josh hummed. “Try do that again and you’ll regret it, Joseph.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Tyler opened his mouth and pulled it shut again, trying to find a way to steer the conversation somewhere else before he started to read into things too much. “So, how’d you start working for RBM?”

“Well, as you know, finding a decent job after college is a lot harder than people make it seem, and that was the only thing that was higher than minimum wage that I wasn’t overqualified or underqualified for.” Josh said.

“What did you study?” Tyler asked.

“I majored in music theory and business. Kind of a strange mix, but I was hoping to open up an instrument shop and be in a band on the side. For now, I’m just raising money so I can start getting private funding. I might even work with the company once I really get started.”

“That’s really cool.” Tyler said, his voice hushed. “Best of luck to you, man. You know more about what you want to do than me. Not much I can do with a degree in writing, but hopefully I’ll be able to work for the newspaper or something once I move. That might take a while considering my vast student loans, but I’ll survive.”

“You’re a writer?” Josh asked. Tyler nodded. “I knew it. You definitely seem like the caged creative type. You’re like a trapped dove in that office.”

Tyler drew in his breath and held it for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right about that. Nice analogy, but I’m no dove.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Tyler blushed and ducked his head as a reflex to the reaction. “Maybe I’ll start with my poetry again. It’s been a while. The very thing that was supposed to help me succeed in life stopped me from doing things that will actually make me happy.” Tyler sighed, remembering how caught up he had been with finals. He hadn’t been a pleasant person under all that stress, and he certainly hadn’t even considered writing for fun when he had to do it so much for class.

“Hey, you should show me if you do. You know, if it’s share-able and not just a thing for yourself.  That’s what I do. But I’d love to see what’s going on in that head of yours.” Josh offered, sounding sincere enough for Tyler to not think he was just trying to be nice without really meaning what he was saying.

“Yeah, I will. Promise.” Tyler smiled, peeking at Josh through the corner of his eye. He had the sweetest, softest look on his face, and he was still just concentrating on the road as they pulled into a parking lot.

“So, this is it. Coconut Grove, Tyler. Tyler, Coconut Grove.” Josh pronounced, arms outstretched towards the restaurant after he parked the car and closed his door after him.

Tyler giggled so hard he had to cover his mouth with his hands, shooting Josh an absurd look of mock annoyance. “You’re too much, stop it.”

“You like it.” Josh hummed back softly, opening the door for Tyler after they walked up the stairs. Tyler made a noise of agreement right back at him and he muttered out a quiet thank you.

“Table for two?” A waitress asked, standing by the menus. Josh nodded, following her after she grabbed two menus and led them to a candle-lit booth. There were other lights illuminating the place, but it still had a warm, dark, and rich feeling that Tyler couldn’t exactly brush off. It just felt plain old _romantic._ Not that he could really complain.

They took drink orders a minute later when their waitress came back, Tyler getting an iced tea for himself and Josh settling on water. “Isn’t a bit late for caffeine?” Josh questioned, looking curious instead of cynical.

Tyler shrugged. “Possibly. But if I’m gonna get creative tonight, I need inspiration. Coffee is the best form of inspiration when I’m tired or lazy.”

“Right, yeah.” Josh nodded, eyes scanning the menu over all of the pages. Tyler swirled the straw around in his drink, not breaking his streak of always being a bit restless and fidgety during a sit-down meal. His mom had always hated it, but Tyler couldn’t stop easily and Josh didn’t seem to mind. He was absorbed in the menu, trying to make a decision and inevitably forming an adorably frustrated look on his face.

“Can’t decide?” Tyler asked, taking a sip of his iced tea and pointedly deciding that it was in his best interests to pour packets of sugar in it to sweeten it a little. Or, maybe a lot, actually.

“Yeah. I just need a minute. Ordering off menus stresses me out, I’m used to only having to decide what toppings I’ll need on my delivery pizza.”

“Awww.” Tyler cooed. “Jishwa not used to the big, scary world of restaurants?”

“Teasing is rude, Tyler Joseph, didn’t your mother teach you manners?” Josh said with a little playful peek of his tongue. Tyler stuck his tongue right back out at him, this time with a little extra gusto.

“My momma taught me lots of things, including how to be nice to boys and girls I like but that hasn’t gotten me anywhere.” Tyler huffed, swirling his straw around to mix in the extra splenda for his horrifying concoction. “She did teach me how to knit, though, and I make nice winter gloves.”

Josh stared back at him curiously, a little gleam in his eye. “Really? You’re such a domestic little husband for a single person.” Tyler blushed and shrugged noncommittally in response, doing his best to not read into the hopeful look Josh had on his face.

Their waitress chose to swing by once again and take their orders right then, so Josh finally settled on a salad while Tyler got a veggie sandwich with a side of fries, since he loved being unhealthy and he wasn’t exactly trying to maintain a form like the one Josh had, which was very, very nice. Tyler did his best to subtly check his friend out and not make it obvious that he was a bit of a creep, and Josh seemed oblivious enough that Tyler didn’t have to worry about how long he spent watching the muscles in Josh’s forearms bend and flex as he moved them around in sweeping movements while he talked.

Josh trailed on from subject to subject while they waited for their food, Tyler just listening and interjecting when he felt that it was necessary. He could tell that Josh was a bit of a ranter when he got anxious, telling by that oh-so-familiar tremble in his hands and the way his mouth quivered whether he talked or not. Tyler didn’t quite know how to soothe someone else’s nerves when he didn’t know how to control his own head and body, so he nodded and smiled and made comments back to the other man and tried not to think too hard about what Josh was like when he wasn’t so strung out.

“-and you get what I’m saying here, obviously. I’m sorry, I can’t shut up right now for some reason. I just try too much sometimes and- and yeah.” Josh babbled as he put his head in his hands and let out a long sigh. He was running himself around in circles, which was exactly what Tyler did when he couldn’t bear to let out how he really felt.

“Josh.” Tyler said gently. He put a hand on top of Josh’s and forced the other man to look up at him. “It’s ok, we’ve known each other for a while, right? I’m not going to judge you or anything. I get it all. Anxiety and talking to people you haven't known forever and whatnot. It’s cool.” He reassured Josh, easing the tightness away from his face as he rubbed his thumb over the back of Josh’s hand.

“Oh.” Josh said quietly. “Yeah, right. I’ve been jumpy all day, probably from wondering what you were going to do to me. W-with the threat of pranks, you know.” Josh laughed nervously, drawing his body up into less of a slouched position. “I promise I’m usually quieter.”

“Nah, I don’t need any promises of that. I’m usually the babbler, honestly, no wonder I don’t have many friends.” Tyler scoffed, waving a loose hand in the air for emphasis. “You’re a cool guy, Josh. Stop worrying about what other people think of you.”

Josh paused, watching Tyler silently for a couple of moments before he shook himself. “Yeah, you’re right. What is wrong with people, though? I’m surprised you aren’t Mr.Popular!”

“Me?!” Tyler gasped, one hand clutched to his chest and eager to bring the mood up once again to how it was earlier. “Ridiculous! You’re the one in the office with half a dozen admirers!”

“No.” Josh laughed, shaking his head and smiling widely. “No, I’m just friendly, and people are friendly back.”

Tyler purposed his lips and crossed his arms. “Jamie totally wants in your pants.”

Of course, _he_ wanted in Josh’s pants, too, but he couldn’t afford to think about that.

Josh upturned a nose. “Ugh. Ok, yeah, she’s not one for being subtle, but then again, she’s like, forty. No thank you.”

Tyler couldn’t help but let loose a fit of giggles because of Josh’s disgusted expression. “She’s not _that_ old!”

“Doesn’t mean I want to… do anything with her!”

“I’ve heard she used to be a stripper.”

“Okay, now you’re the one being ridiculous, Tyler.” Josh said, rolling his eyes.

“Fine, maybe I improvised a bit there.” Tyler giggled, biting his lip to hold back a smile. “You’re telling me you’re not into strippers?”

Josh’s eyes trailed Tyler’s face, his gaze falling down to where he was chewing obsessively on his own mouth. “I’m not really all that into women at the moment.”

“Oh?” Tyler wasn’t able to stop his heart from jumping with a bit of hope, but he tried not to pry into Josh’s personal life too much.

“Yeah, no. I kind of like this one guy, but… nevermind. I’ll get over it.” He shrugged, staring down at the table. Tyler knew it couldn’t be _him,_ although that would explain how nervous Josh had been since he’d known him. At least it meant he was into dudes, though, which was always a good sign.

Tyler hummed along a noise of agreement. “Me, too.” He mumbled under his breath. Josh met his eyes once again, looking like he was going to press, but their food arrived before he could say anything and the subject was dropped as they ate in companionable silence for a good stretch of time.

“That was so good. Please take some of my fries before I eat the rest of them and I burst at the seams.” Tyler groaned, patting his stomach gently under his shirt. He had a bit of a tummy, especially after he ate, probably because he didn’t do much working out except for weightlifting and all he ate was junk food most days.

“Try some of my salad first.” Josh hummed while making a grab for a large pinch of fries. They were both pretty good at stuffing their faces in a short amount of time, so both of their plates were almost completely empty. Tyler took a forkful of Josh’s salad and then another, eating until he felt too sick to continue.

“Thank you, God, for my ability to metabolize food.” Tyler sighed as he stretched back and rucked up his t-shirt to pat at his stomach a couple of times. He felt a little sleepy and comfortable after finally eating that day, and Josh seemed to be at ease as well. His eyes fell to Tyler’s stomach where he was petting it gently.

“You’re probably just skinny because you always forget to eat, too.”

“Yeah, that and the fact that I go to the gym every once in a blue moon. How often do you even go, dude? I can’t put on muscle even if I have a regular schedule.”

Josh smiled slightly and shrugged. “Every other day? On other days I just go running or just do something in my apartment.”

“That, my friend.” Tyler pointed to Josh with a staggering finger. “That’s commitment.”

Josh giggled and licked his lips. “Maybe? It’s boredom. It’s conditioning for drumming.”

Tyler nodded and stacked up their plates to give to the waitress. “One bill or two, gentlemen?” She asked.

“One.” Josh said before Tyler could interject. He shot Josh a questioning look, not falling for the other man’s feigned innocence. “What? I was the one who invited you to dinner. It’s on me.”

“Fine, but I’m paying next time.” Tyler said confidently, challenging Josh to refuse his offer. Thankfully, he didn’t.

They eventually made their way out of Coconut Grove and back to Josh’s car, a warm feeling settled in Tyler’s chest. He directed Josh on how to take him home, which was only a few blocks from the restaurant, so he found himself hesitant to end the night so quickly.

“I’ll see you later?” Tyler asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt and settled a hand on the door handle.

“Yeah. Text me what time you want to be picked up and your address one more time to be safe.”

“Goodnight, Josh.” Tyler smiled at the other man as he got out of the car and wrapped his arms around him in the cold night air.

“‘Night, Tyler.”

Josh gave him once last departing smile before he pulled out of the parking lot and headed out of Tyler’s line of sight, leaving him alone by his apartment complex to think about how much he’d wanted to invite Josh inside, or possibly kiss him on the cheek before he left.

...Maybe another time. Tyler could only hope.


End file.
